Cut!

Take 25 - Tell Me a Lie - Part 2

A/N: Please comment as you read. It makes my day. 

A loud scream interrupted our gazing contest, and I jerked around to see what was happening. In the door to the restaurant, I could see a guard fighting to keep a girl at bay. Looking over at Louis, his face mimicked my surprise.

“A fan of yours?” I asked.

“I have absolutely no idea,” he said. Leaning back, he tried to hide behind an overgrown houseplant. I found it sort of adorable, but he just stuck out his tongue at me.

“What?” I asked with a laugh.

“It’s not funny.” He pouted.

“Oh really?” I lifted both my eyebrows. “You’re pouting, dude.”

“Am not!”

“Are too.” I spoke in between a giggle fit.

“Am not.” He crossed his arms.

“Are too.” My stomach was beginning to hurt from the laughter. This was too much, even for me. We were actually acting like to kindergarten children.

“Are too,” he said.

“Are not—Wait.” My mouth dropped open. “That’s cheating!”

This time he was the one laughing, while I was the one pouting.

“I can’t believe you actually fell for that,” he said. “That’s like… the oldest trick in the book.”

“It’s not fair, I had a legitimate excuse.” I crossed my arms.

“Really? And what was that?” He cocked one eyebrow, reminding me once again of my inability to do so.

“I… ehm…” I tried to think of an excuse. “Your pouty face made my stomach hurt.”

Louis chuckled. “Whatever you say, Cami.”

“It’s true.” I glared at him playfully.

He held up both hands in surrender. “Sure, sure.” Looking around, he sat up. “What do you say we head back to the room now? Harry must be wondering what kind of candy is taking so long to buy.”

“Yeah, you kind of ruined a moment back there,” I muttered as I remembered how I’d left Harry. It could have been worse, though. If he hadn’t needed the bathroom, this night could have gone in a whole other direction.

“Bah.” Louis shrugged. “He’ll live.”

He stood up, and I followed suit. Since the guards were currently dealing with the girl from before, we decided to use another exit a bit closer to the entrance of the hotel. Additional staff members were guiding people around the screaming crowd outside. I knew I should just ignore them, but curiosity got the better of me.

I looked out at the crowd who were squished against the large windows. There were colorful banners and signs with several of obscenities, hearts and love declarations splattered across the view. I smiled at them, finding them adorable.

Then I froze. One particular sign made my heartbeat race, my palms sweaty and I felt faint.

An enlarged picture of Ludmilla going into the rehab center was painted over with a red stop sign. On the side, in glittery blue it read: ‘We don’t want Harry to be with a junkie. Go back to the needle, bitch.’

I struggled to breathe, and I couldn’t move my feet. The girl who held the cardboard sign stared straight at me with hatred in her eyes.

Louis noticed I’d stopped. “What are you doing?”

I didn’t react; I couldn’t take my eyes away from that girl. What could possibly possess a girl to hold so much hatred inside of them?

“Jesus, Cami,” Louis said. “Don’t look at that bullshit.”

He came over to me, and I felt his arms wrap around my shoulders. Slowly, he guided me away from the onlookers, and I tried to swallow the massive lump in my throat.

“Are you okay?” he asked once we got inside the elevator.

I didn’t trust my voice, so instead, I just shook my head.

“Don’t take it to heart,” he said. “Some people always cross the lines.”

“That doesn’t make it okay,” I whispered. “They don’t know that I’m me—so they attack Ludmilla like this? How is that fair?”

“It’s not.” Louis looked to the floor of the elevator. “But there’s not much we can do about it.”

“That’s so messed up.” I sniffled. There was no way I was going to cry over something like this again. That would mean they won. And right now, the only solace I had was that Ludmilla hadn’t seen it. Surely, that would have broken my heart even more.

Louis guided me down the hall, his hand on my shoulder. There was a small amount of comfort, and with each step, I felt more confident. Sad, yes, but I’d live.

“I think I’m going to get some rest,” I said as we reached the door.

He nodded. “Sleep well, then.”

I gave him a weak smile then hurried inside. I didn’t greet the other guys but instead ran straight to my room. From behind the closed door, I could hear Louis give them an explanation. Without waiting any further, I found my nightwear in the dark and headed for the sink to brush my teeth.

The green room didn’t exactly have a bathroom, but the sink in the closet was one of my favorite things about this suite. Especially right now, where it meant I didn’t have to go outside and face any of the guys.

It didn’t take long before I climbed into bed, only to discover that I wasn’t alone. Turning on a small table light, I found Harry spread out beside me. He was deep asleep, and he looked so serene.

Maybe he’d waited for me in here after I left.

Smiling at how peaceful he looked, I turned off the lights and ducked under the covers. Snuggling close into him, I closed my eyes, hoping to forget the crazy fangirls.

 A/N: Give it a vote, maybe? My sleep schedule is completely warped, so if you all vote and comment like crazy with pompoms and all. Then I'm going to see how many updates I can write before I finally crash. I'm aiming for ten, but let's see. lol. 

So, yeah. Vote away. Tweet, Share, do anything. Once this reaches 3000 votes, I want to share some news about a potential sequel with you. Eep.